Pasta Paccheri with Eggplants

This Italian first course is prepared with a tomatoes sauce that is traditional of Sicily indeed it is prepared with black olive and eggplant, and a type of pasta called Paccheri that is typical from Campania. Other than eggplant and black olive for the tomatoes sauce you need to add also mozzarella cheese, a lot of parmesan and basil to obtain a more delicious italian first course. This Italian recipe could be also prepared for Christmas lunch and you can easy found it on the table of Italian family from the South of Italy.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 people):
400 g or 3 cups of Pasta type paccheri
1 Eggplant
50 ml or 1/4 cup of extravirgin olive oil
50 g or 2 oz of black olive
700 ml or 3 cups of tomatoes sauce
400 g or 14 oz of Mozzarella cheese
5-6 leaves of basil
150 g 1 cup +2/3 cup of Parmesan

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Vesuvio rosato DOC ( Red Wime)

PREPARATION
Let the salted water boil for pasta, type paccheri. Clean the eggplant and cut it in small cubes. Preheat the extravirgin olive oil and when it's hot fry the cubes of eggplant.



When the eggplant got a golden color remove them from the extravirgin olive oil and put them on a blotting paper to remove the excess of oil. In the meantime prepare the tomatoes sauce, preheat 2-3 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil, cut the black olive in slices and add them to the oil. Let them saute a little bit




and then add the tomatoes sauce.



Stir and let them cook for about 15 minutes, stir the tomatoes sauce time by time. If the water for pasta, type paccheri, boils, cook the paccheri for the time indicated on the packaging.



Cut mozzarella cheese in cubes.



When all the ingredients are ready you can start to put them together. First mix the paccheri pasta with a little bit of tomatoes sauce



then take a large baking pan, place a little bit of tomatoes sauce on them bottom. Add a layer of paccheri pasta,



the fried eggplant, the tomatoes sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan and some leaves of basil.



Then start again with paccheri pasta, tomatoes sauce, eggplant, mozzarella cheese, parmesan and basil.



Bake at 180 C or 356 F for 20 minutes.



Serve warm. BUON APPETITO!

Paccheri with Aubergines and Scamorza

This is a particular Italian recipe. It is simply made of mousse of aubergines and scamorza, but its taste is delicious. I use the pasta called Paccheri, it is a type of pasta typical of Naples and its shape is that of a large hollow tube. I use fresh and sweet aubergines in order to obtain a good first course. In particular what I prefer of this recipe is the pieces of scamorza over the aubergine that made a sort of spicy crust.


INGREDIENTS (for 6 people):
4 Large aubergines
400 g of Paccheri (type of pasta)
250 g of Scamorza (soft, stringy pear-shaped Italian cheese)
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
20 g of Parmesan
Salt
Pepper
Butter for the baking pan

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Riviera Ligure di Ponente Vermentino Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Let salted water boil for Paccheri. When the water boils add the Paccheri


and cook it as indicated on the packaging. In the mean time clean, peel and cut in small cubes the aubergines. Preheat in a pan the extra virgin olive oil, then add the aubergines and let them cook for about 10-15 minutes or until they become slightly brown.

When they are ready, place them over a kitchen paper in order to eliminate the oil in excess. Now divide the aubergines in two parts, then liquidize one part in order to produce a sort of mousse


and use the other to garnish. Cut the scamorza in small pieces.


When the Paccheri are ready drain them and place them over a towel as shown in the picture below.


Preheat the oven to 180° C.
Now fill the paccheri with the mousse of aubergines and place them in a buttered baking pan and make a layer with the stuffed paccheri. Put over the layer of paccheri the other part of aubergine, the pieces of scamorza and the Parmesan.


Bake for 20 minutes until the surface become golden.


Serve hot.
This is the result:

BUON APPETITO!